NENC/America Amplified Special: New England’s Abolitionist History at Odds With Racist Realities
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- Pat Wilson Pheanious is a Connecticut state representative whose distant relatives are among the first to be memorialized in the Witness Stones Project, which honors the lives of enslaved people in Guilford, Connecticut. (Joe Amon/Connecticut Public/NENC)
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- Pat Wilson Pheanious, a Connecticut state representative and the daughter of a Tuskegee Airman, outside her home in Ashford, Connecticut, on Sept. 11, 2020. (Joe Amon/Connecticut Public/NENC)
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- A photo of Pat Wilson Pheanious’ father, Lt Col. Bertram W. Wilson, in his aircraft as a Tuskegee Airman, hangs on the wall of her home office in Ashford, Connecticut. (Joe Amon/Connecticut Public/NENC)
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- A photocopy of the “Witness Stone” for the sixth great-grandmother of Pat Wilson Pheanious. The Witness Stones Project highlights enslaved people who lived in Guilford, Connecticut. (Joe Amon/Connecticut Public/NENC)
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- This is a favorite photo in the home of Pat Wilson Pheanious, featuring her father, Lt. Col. Bertram W. Wilson, and her son Cheo Hodari Coker when he was 9 years old. (Joe Amon/Connecticut Public/NENC)
Here’s the story that New England tells itself: Racism is a Southern problem. But our region’s abolitionist past hides a darker history of racism, slavery and white supremacy. It’s a legacy that lives with us today. This week on “Episode 216” of NEXT, we premiere a special series on racism in New England — produced by the New England News Collaborative and America Amplified.
We want to hear from you:
- Is your community segregated? What role does racism play? And what can we do about it?
Leave us a voicemail on our comment line: 860-275-7595. Or email us at AmericaAmplified@nepm.org.
Guests:
Don Stevens, chief of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.
James DeWolf Perry VI, whose Rhode Island ancestors were among the largest slave traders in American history. He served as a historical consultant for the documentary “Traces of The Trade.”
James W. Loewen, author of “Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism” and professor emeritus at the University of Vermont.
Pat Wilson Pheanious, state representative in Connecticut whose ancestors were among the first to be memorialized in the Witness Stones Project that honors enslaved residents of Guilford, Conn.
Resources:
- Documentary: “Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North”
- Sundown town locations in the U.S., and How To Confirm Sundown Towns
- NENC Video: Why Young Protesters Are Fighting For Racial Justice In New England
- Witness Stones Project
Credits:
Hosts: Morgan Springer of NEXT and Traci Griffith
Coordinating Producer: Morgan Springer
Producer: Lydia Brown of Vermont Public Radio
Executive Producer: John Dankosky of America Amplified
Executive Editor: Vanessa de la Torre
Music: “TracPhone,” “The Samo,” “Stay Down,” and “One Call Away” by Latrell James.
Additional support: Connecticut Public, New England Public Media, Vermont Public Radio, Maine Public Radio, New Hampshire Public Radio and CAI Cape and Islands. America Amplified and the New England News Collaborative are funded, in part, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.